There are known methods of capturing, manipulating and displaying printed images; standard office copying machines are well known. Existing methods of image capture, manipulation and display, typically require rigid, cumbersome hardware that includes a dedicated operational platform with moving parts and large energy consumption.
Further, the known methods of capturing undistorted images of bound material such as books or manuscripts require that the books be opened fully so that the pages may be flattened to remove image distortion as referenced to the imaging surface of the capture device. These opening and flattening requirements are destructive to books' bindings. Further, they force page exposure to the destructive effect of strong light and environmental pollutants; these considerations are particularly critical when trying to copy old or rare books or manuscripts.